Cooler for cooling oil



yl 1933- K. M. URQUHART 1,909,556

COOLER FOR coomue OIL Filed March 24, 1952 -(1 JJ 5 l Patented May 16, 1533 UNITED STATES KENNETH M. URQUHART, OF NORFOLK, VIRGINIA.

COOLER FOB CO LING OIL Application filed March 24, 1932. Serial No. 601,025. v

. This invention relates to coolers for cooling oil direct 'from a etroleum still and before the oilis passed mto storage tanks, and

such likef'service where hot fluids must be cooled or condensed. The temperature of liquid or vaporized oil, leaving the still, is often extremely high, therefore the liquid or vaporized oil must be cooled or cooled and condensed before being stored.

It has been common practice to employ a conventional type of tube and shell heat exchanger for cooling the oil as it leaves thestill, but much difliculty has been encountered in the use of such apparatus due to the fact that scale from the cooling water would form on the outside of the tubes and eventually clog the apparatus, or at least insulate the tubes against proper transfer of heat from the oil to the water. To overcome this tendency of the tubes to accumulate scale, it has been proposed to slightly bow the tubes so that elongation by thermal expansion results in a relatively great deformation of the tubes, and thereby automatically causes the scale deposited on the outside of the tubes to become loosened. However, the expansion and contraction method has proven inadequate, because the movements of the tubes are not sufficiently violent to shake the scale loose. Furthermore such automatic flexing of the tubes can only be obtained by alternately turning on and cutting off the cooling water, which of course is objectionable and expensive.

The general object of the present invention is to provide mechanical means for flexing or jarring the tubes to any desired degree without interference with the normal operation of the apparatus.

The invention is illustrated by way of example in the accompanying drawing in which:

Figure 1 is a longitudinal sectional plan view of the cooler;

Figure 2 is a side view of the water pipe and cooler;

Figure 3 away;

Figures is an end view partly broken 4, 5 and 6 are detail views of conaccumulation of scale, by actuation of lever nection between the actuating lever and the tubes; and i b Figure 7 is a detail of the locking mem- Referring more particularly to the draw- 5 ing the cooler or heat exchanger comprises a skeleton frame 1, having a pair of side plates of channel iron construction, which are sultably secured at their opposite ends to the respective headers or heads 3 and 4.

Braces 9 tie the side plates together intermediate their ends and strengthen the structure as a whole. The tubes 7 communicate with these heads at their opposite ends, and

head 3 is subdivided into two chambers or compartments 5 and 6 into which the cooled oil enters and from whichthe cooled oil mounted above and in vertical alinement with the tubes. The sprayed water drops down uponthe longitudinally disposed tubes and percolates therethrough, finally escaping through the open bottom of the skeleton casing or frame. Hot oil'direct from the 3 still, not shown, enters chamber 5 of head 3, through opening 11, passes through the battery of tubes connected with chamber 5, thence into chamber 4 and finally back through the second battery of tubes to cham- 3 her 6. The cooled oil escapes from chamber 6 through opening 12, into storage tanks, not shown.

Secured to one of the side bracket 13 to which is 'pivote having a ivoted arm 15, the free end of which pro ects through the side plate and is loosely attached to a tube plate 16. Plate 16 is provided with perforations 17 through lates 2 is a a lever 14 which the tubes loosely extend, and is preferably positioned approximately midway the length of the tubes. Thus the tubes can be conveniently flexed for the purpose of cracking and splitting away any objectionable .the tube against return movement.

14. Due to the loose connection between the free end of lever arm 1:) and the tube plate 16. and also the loose fit of: the tubes in the p rforations ot the tube plate. it is possible to strike the tubes with jarring ellect in addition to subjecting them to a flexing action.

In actual practice the tubes 7 are preferably initiallyflexed to Figure l dotted line position by elevating the lever 14L also to dotted line position as also indicated in Figure 1. This flexing ol the tubes causes the latter to be placed under considerable tension and consequently some such means as locking member 17 is necessarv to secure This member 17 connected to one of the side plates 2 by an eye bolt 18 and consequently is free to be swung into and out of engagement with the lever, 14. A single hook member or arm 19 positioned intermediate the ends of lockingmembcr 17 is adapted to lock the tubes in their normal or originally flexed dotted line position, whereas the free end of member 17 is provided with a pair of jaws 20 between which the lever 14 is received and held for the purpose of locking the tubes in reversed flexed position to that shown in Figure 1.

It frequently happens that tubes become damaged and in fact completely ruptured due to vibration set up under the surging or pulsating action of liquid pumped through the tubes, or the action 01" the cooling fluid passing between the tubes. This objection is overcome by maintaining the tubes under tension in the manner just described. Furthermore I have found that scale can be most efi ectively removed when deposited on the tubes while the latter are in flexed positi on, by merely flexing the tubes in a reverse direction. A much greater deformation of scale can thus be had than where the flexing action starts from an intermediate or nonflexed tube position.

Having thus described my invention What I claim as my invention is:

1. In a heat exchanger, a header, tubes communicating with said header for circulating hot oil therethrough, means for cooling the tubes, and manually operable means loosely connected to said tubes for jarring said tubes to prevent accumulation of scale thereon.

2. In a heat exchanger, a header, tubes communicating with said header for circulating hot oil there-tln'ough. means for cooling the tubes, and manually operable means loosely sleeved upon said tubes for flexing and jarring said tubes to prevent accumulation of scale thereon.

In a heateXc-hanger, a skeleton frame. comprising a pair of headers, side plates connected at their ends to said headers. tubes communicating with said headers for circulating hot oil therethrough, means for cooling the tubes with water, a lever connected to one of said side plates, a pivotal arm connected to said lever and loosely coupled with said tubes for flexing the tubes to and from a straight line position to prevent accumulation of scale.

4. In a heat exchanger, a pair of headers. tubes communicating: with said headers tor circulating hot oil tluarethrough, water cooling means for the tubes. a lever, and means pivotally connected to said lever and loosely cormected to said tubes for jarring said tubes when said lever is actuated.

5. In a heat exchanger, a pair of headers tubes communicating with said headers for circulating hot oil therethrough, water cool ing means for the tubes, :1. plate having perforations substantially larger than the cross sections of said tubes sleeved upon said tubes intermediate the headers, a lever and means connected to the lever and to said plate for flexing the tubes to and from a straight line. position to prevent accumulation of scale.

6. In a heat exchang r a pair of headers, tubes connnunicating with said headers for circulating hot oil therethrough, water coolng means for the tubes, a perforated plate positioned intermediate the headers through which the tubes loosely ex-lend. a lever and means connecting the lever and plate for jarring the tubes.

7. In a heat exchanger, a header, tubes communicating with said header tor circulating hot oil therethrough, cooling means for the tubes, and means connected to the tubes for flexing the tubes to prevent accumulation of scale and means for looking the tubes in flexed position. i

8. In a heat exchanger, a header, a plurality of flexed tubes communicating with said header for circulating fluid therethrough, cooling means for the flexed tubes, and manuallycperable means loosely connected to said tubes for reversing the direction of flexure of said tubes to and beyond a straight line position.

9. In a heat exchanger, a header. a plu rality of flexed tubes communicating with said header for circulating fluid therethrough. cooling means for the flexed tubes, and means for reversing the direction of flexure of said tubes and means for locking the tubes in either flexed position.

10. In a heat exchanger, a header, tubes communicating with said header for circulating hot oil therethrough, means for cool ing the tubes, and means loosely connected with said tubes for manually flexing the tubes to and from a straight line position and for inducing free oscillations of said tubes to prevent accumulation of scale thereon.

In testimony whereof I attix mv signature.

KENNETH M. URQUHART. 

